Welding transformer



Dec. 12, 1944. M. TYRNER WELDING TRANSFORMER Filed Sept. 10, 1942 4 W 3 W M IN VEN TOR.

E Y N m M T R m M W m 4 w J? Patented Dec. 12, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WELDm' G TRAN SFDRMER Joseph M. Tyrner, Englewood, N. 3., assignor to Air Reduction Company, Incorporated, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application September ill, 1942, Serial No. 157,897

lib-4113) This invention relates to electric arc welding 9 Claims.

with aiternating current.

It is an accepted fact that alternating current is more dangerous than direct currerit of the same voltage. Gne reason is that the peak voltage with alternating current is about 40% higher than the effective alternating current voltage and the corresponding direct current voltage. Another reason is the different reaction of the human body to steady and. to alternating electric current.

The open-circuit voltages commonly used with alternating and direct-=current welding equipment are about the same, from 6G to 90 volts. This is reasonably safe with direct current, but is on the border of being dangerously high with alternating current. Various plans have been devised for reducing the open-circuit voltage of alternating-current equipment and yet providing for suihcient voltage and current to start the are.

It is an object of this invention to provide improved alternating-current welding apparatus that has an open-circuit voltage that is not dangerous and yet has ample voltage and current for starting the arc.

Another objector the invention is to provide an improved welding apparatus with automatic voltage control. The apparatus is, in effect, two transformers with the primaries connected in parallel and the secondaries in series. If two such transformers are alike, the disconnecting of one oi them will halve the open-circuit voltage of the secondary circuit. By placing a contactor in the primary circuit it need carry only half of the primary current, instead of the full welding load as in the caseof contactors in the secondary circuit.

In accordance with one feature of the invention the use of relays is dispensed with by using one or more auxiliary windings to operate the contactor.

In accordance with another feature, the apparatus is constructed with a single secondary winding which embraces the separate cores of both 01' the primary windings.

Another object of the invention is to provide a. welding transformer with improved power factor correction. The correction capacitors of this invention are not efi'ective when the transformer is idling.

The invention includes also improved cooling facilities comprising means for circulating a cooling fluid and automatic control of the circulating means.

Other features relate to overheating protection, enclosure, and portability of the welding apparatus.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will appear or be pointed out as the specification proceeds.

The drawing is a diagrammatic sectional view oi welding apparatus embodying the invention.

A carriage i) has rear wheels H and one or more caster wheels 92 for stably supporting it on a floor or other surface. Two closed iron circuits, comprising transformer coresi i and 15, are mounted on the carriage. There is a primary winding i i on one leg of the core i i and a similar primary winding ii! on a leg of the other core iii.

The primary windings ii and ii are connected in parallel by a switch 59 at their lower ends and a switch at their upper ends. These windings i5 and ii are designed for a voltage of 449 volts across terminals 222 and 23 oi the transformer. There are center taps on the windings 1d and connected with a terminal 25 for operating the transformer from a 220 volt supply. A switch 25 connects the center taps of the windings i8 and ill.

The switches i9. and are connected with a rod 27, the upper end of which extends into a solenoid coil 28. These switches and the rod 27 are the contactor for connecting and disconnecting the primary winding l1 and the supply line.

A single secondary winding 30 embraces both of the cores M and 35. This secondary winding 30 is connected through terminals 3! with arc welding equipment, and is the work circuit of the transformer apparatus.

The contactor is moved by gravity to open the switches 19, 20 and 25, but when current is supplied to the coil 28 the rod 21 is drawn up by the coil and all 01' the switches I9, 20 and 25 are closed and held closed until the current in the coil 28 is interrupted.

One side of the coil 28 is connected with auxiliary windings 33 and 34. on the cores l4 and I 5, respectively, through a thermostat 35. The other side of the coil 28 is connected with a contact 36 of a safety switch 31. The auxiliary windings 33 and 34 are connected with a contact 38 of the safety switch 31. A third contact 39 connects with the lower terminal 3| of the secondary winding 30.

A blade 40 of the safety switch 31 can be moved into one position in which it connects the com tacts 36 and 38 so that the solenoid coil 28 is connected across the auxiliary winding 38 on the core ll of the transformer. With the safety switch 81 in this position the automatic control of the open circuit voltage is not effective, because the auxiliary winding 33 keeps the holding coil 18 continuously energized.

The auxiliary secondary windings a and u' have the same number of turns as the main secondary winding 30. These windings are connected so that the voltages in the auxiliary windings 33 and II oppose the voltage in the main secondary winding. 30. Therefore, no current flows in these windings on idling and no current flows in the solenoid or holding coil 28 which is connected in' series with the auxiliary windings 3', 3.

If the terminals of the main secondary winding. are short-circulted by striking an arc, the auxiliary secondary windings 33 and 34 are shortcircuited too and the resulting current excites the holding coil 28 and operates the contactor by moving the rod 21 and closing all of the switches l9, 2! and 25. This connects primary winding II in the circuit, but the resulting excitation of the winding l1 affects the main and auxiliary secon' windings alike.

ii an arc is drawn andmaintained, the

voltage that operates-the holding coil 20 is'the voltage induced in both .of the auxiliary secondary windings 33, 34 minus the drop caused by their impedance and minus. the are voltage. If the full secondary open-circuit voltage of the transformer apparatus is 80 volts, the voltage excited by each primary winding", i1 is 40 volts. Thus 40 volts is the voltage at which the auxiliary holding. coil 28. After the switches II, I. and 25 of the contactor have closed, the voltage in thesecondary windings goes up to 80 minus impedance drop and minus the arc voltage of about 30 volts. Therefore, the contactor is operated by a practically constant voltage of about 40 volts.

Modernwelding transformers have power-factor correction which by means of capacitors bring the power-factor near to unity on rated load. n open circuit a comparatively large amount of leading kva. is available. At first glance, the availability of this leading power seems to be an advantage. Actually it throws the line only more out of balance. The single phase load oscillates between the lagging current on load. and the considerable leading current of the idling period. Only when a large number of transformers are evenly distributed in a polyphase line. will the leading power compensate the a if only a few transformers are used. one leg of lagging load. But.

connected during idling eriods helps considerably because it short-circuits this primary winding and reduces the reactance of the system at the moment whenthe arc is first struck and thus increases the available current, making striking of the arc and operation of the contactor easier.

All of the transformer structure, including the cores, windings, contactor, and capacitors, is preferably an integral unit supported on the frame of the carriage l0 and enclosed in a housing 44 of the carriage. The housing has louvers 45 for ventilation. Fans 48 draw air in through the louvers' l5 and blow it against thetransformer parts so that the air circulates around the cores and windings as a cooling fluid. The housing is preferably open at the bottom.

The fans 48 have motors 41 connected in parallel across the 220 volt terminals of the primary winding i8 so that the fans operate whenever the apparatus is in use, either on full voltage or reduced voltage. The apparatus can be cooled by other means, and if liquid-cooled, the motors 41 are the motors of the circulating pumps.

The thermostat 35 is normally closed and opens in response to excessive heating of the transformer. The opening of the thermostat circuit,

however, does not put the apparatus completely out of operation. The circuit of the holding coil 28 is broken and the switches I9, 20, and open, disconnecting the primary winding ii. The 'apparatus can continuetm operate, but atreduced output, and the cooling system continues to function because the motors of fans 46 are connected across the primary winding is that always remains in the power supply circuit.

The opening of the thermostat reduces the output of the transformer apparatus regardless of the position of the safety switch 31.

The preferred embodiment of the invention has been described, but changes and modifications secondary winding a operates the contactor'and can be made and some features of the invention can be used without others.

I claim:

1. An arc welding device including transformer apparatus comprising two primary windings connected in parallel, a switch through whichv one of the primary windings is connected with the other, a secondary circuit for supplying welding mary winding surrounding a portion of the other iron core, .a single secondary winding embracing the power supply may have a leading and the the primary winding II. The upper-parts of the primary windings are used as auto transformers when operating the apparatus from a- 220 volt line. By connecting the capacitors across the primary winding II that is disconnected when the apparatus is idling with reduced secondary voltage, there is no power-factor correction during such idling periods. The connection of the capacitors to the transformer winding that is dis ll portions of both the iron cores, and a switch in the primary circuit in position to disconnect one of the primary windings from a power source independently of the other to reduce the voltage excited in the secondary winding.

3. A welding transformer comprising a primary circuit including two primary windings on different cores, a main secondary circuit, an auxiliary secondary circuit of substantially the same voltage as the main secondary circuit and 'connected with the main secondary circuit in such a way that the voltages of the secondary circuits oppose one another, switch means for connecting the second of the primary windings with a power line, and a switch-operating coil for the switch means, said coil being connected in series with the auxiliary secondary circuit.

4. A weldingtransformer comprising a primary circuit including two primary windings on difierent cores, a main secondary circuit, an auxiliary secondary circuit of substantially the same voltage as the main'secondary circuit and connected with the main secondary circuit in such a way that the voltages of the secondary circuits oppose one another, said auxiliary secondary circuit including two windings, each on a different one of the cores of the respective primary windings, switch means for connecting the second of the primary windings with a power source, and an operating coil for the switch means, the two auxiliary secondary windings being connected in series with each other and in series with said operating coil.

5. A transformer for arc welding comprising two separate primary windings on diii'erent cores, 9, main secondary circuit and an auxiliary secondary circuit, each of which is excited to high voltage when both primary windings are energized and to a reduced voltage when only one of the primary windings is energized, said auxiliary secondary circuit including .two windings,

connects the auxiliary secondary windings in series with each other and across the main secondary circuit with their voltage opposing that of the main secondary circuit, and in another position makes the continuously-excited winding and coil a closed circuit independent 01' the main secondary circuit. 1

6. A welding transformer including two closed iron cores, a primary winding on each of the cores, a single secondary winding embracing a portion of each core, an auxiliary secondary winding on each core in series with each other and connected across the single secondary coil withtheir voltageopposing that of the secondary winding, separate terminals connected with each end and with a mid-point of the first of the primary windings, switch means for connecting and disconnecting the respective terminals with corresponding points of the second oi the primary windings so that said primary'windings are in parallel with one another, a common rod for operating all of the switch means simultaconnected from a source of alternating current power independently of the windings,.

first oi' the primary and capacitors for power-factor correction, said capacitors being connected in the circuit 01' the second of the primary windings and only in the circuit oi the second of the primary windings.

.8. Transformer apparatus including two separate primary windings, a secondary circuit 'that is excited to a reduced voltage when only-one of the primary windings is energized and to a higher voltage when both of the primary windings are energized, conductors for connecting one oi the primary windings with a source or alternatingcurrent continuously during the operation the primary winding of the transformer apparatus, a switch for connecting the other primary windings with the source of alternating current during periods when the secondary circuit of the transformer is loaded, and capacitors connected in the primary circuit on the same side 01' the switch as said other primary winding so that the capacitors are in the circuit only when the secondary circuit of the transformer is loaded.

9. Arc welding transformer apparatus compris-.

ing a first primary winding that is energized to produce a reduced secondary voltage, a second primary winding that is energized to increase the secondary voltage, an overload-protection device including a thermostat that opens a circuit in response to heat generated by the transformer apparatus, switch means for connecting the second primary winding in parallel with the first primary winding, and conductors thermostat in the circuit otthe switch means, said circuit being constructed and arranged to disconnect the second primary winding from the o first primary winding upon opening of the thermostat so that the transformer apparatus continues to operate with saidreduced secondary voltage.

connecting the 

